Aahlad Sivadev Vadrevu, also known as “Brolad,” graduated in May 2015, from University of Illinois at Chicago. He majored in Industrial Engineering because of his interest in math and science. He enjoys this broad category of engineering because it covers several different subjects, like mechanics, statistics, and management, and suited his indecisive personality. Currently, he maintains a supply chain management position at Ace Hardware Corporation.
Aahlad helped established MOD: The Men of Dance Project two years ago. Although having only been in existence for two dance seasons, MOD has competed and placed at top tier competitions. Having already competed at Texas Jhalak and placing second at Buckeye Mela IX, MOD is set to compete at Jazba in Minnesota, Nachte Raho in Iowa City, and Tufaan in Evanston in hopes of securing a bid to Bollywood America, the national Bollywood Fusion competition.
Interview:
What are your interests/hobbies?
Well besides dancing, I like to cook and eat food, learn trivia facts, mix music, and go to Chuck-E-Cheese.
What got you into dancing?
I have always been into dancing. Whether it was learning how to pop, spending hours playing Dance Dance Revolution, or being part of an Indo-Pak and Bboy club in high school. However, the only legitimate artistic environment I had ever been in was the school orchestra. I played upright bass and electric bass for years, but was never 100% passionate about it. Once I got to college, I was lucky to learn about desi dance teams and the legitimized competitive platform they participate in. In addition, I had gone to a Northwestern SASA show in 2011, my freshman year, and saw NU Anubhav perform for the first time. This had been my only exposure to the circuit, at the time. I had never seen such a high level, elaborate dance performance. From that moment, I knew I had to be a part of something similar. By the end of the year, I heard about dance tryouts for the team at my school and jumped on it immediately.
What team(s) do you dance for? Why did you join? What positions have you held?
Chicago Dhamaal was a dance team that started out as all-girls, at UIC over 10 years ago. The year I joined was the first co-ed year, and I became captain my second year on the team. The team unfortunately does not exist anymore, but an awesome new co-ed team, Chicago Adaa, took its place. Afterwards, during a break year, several of us dancers from various teams decided to test the idea of an all-male team which has now turned into The MOD Project. I am currently serving as their director and DJ.
What has been your favorite moment so far? What are you most excited for?
What has stuck with me most, in all this time with MOD, was our first and only performance we had during our pilot year. It was at our India Night Show. It was one of the best performance experiences I have ever been a part of, but it was the only performance that had a lot of risk, surprise and hope attached to it. It was a huge, successful validation of our concept that gave us the courage to continue pursuing our creative and competitive goals with this team. The mission to break down our barriers, in dancing, has stayed burning since then. The hype is still real!
3 Fun Facts About Aahlad:
- He has never broken a bone
- He feel like everything is broken after a hard dance practice
- He likes Bengay
Please feel free to follow him on Soundcloud: